The Minnesota Vikings are heading to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.
After Tonight, the Green Bay Packers will have played half their NFC North schedule, while the Minnesota Vikings have yet to play a divisional opponent. Yet each team enters the Thursday night game with a 2-2 record and trails the division-leading Detroit Lions (3-1).
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It’s a quick turnaround for the Minnesota Vikings. After coming away with a win against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, the team will have to heal up quickly and prepare for tonight Football against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Wisconsin.
Last week against the Falcons, the Minnesota Vikings pounded the football on the ground and gained 241 yards. While the Falcons run defense is not good, Green Bay is ranked last overall in the NFL in rush defense. The Packers AVERAGE giving up 176 yards per game rushing to their opponents. Look for huge games from Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon that will help open up the Vikings pass game.
The Minnesota Vikings have been absolutely horrible on third downs, allowing teams to convert 28 of their 56 chances (50% conversion), which is tied for second worst in the NFL. It seems as though many of the converted plays were a third and long that were either miscommunications, poor tackling, or poor angles taken. With the Packers high powered offense led by Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, and Randall Cobb, the Minnesota Vikings could find themselves struggling again to get a high-powered offense off the field.
Offensive line play has been questionable the first 3 weeks of the Minnesota Vikings season, but the team played well against an anemic Falcons defense. The quarterback should find more pressure against the Packers, who aren’t afraid to send a blitzer like NFL superstar Clay Matthews or Datone Jones to disrupt the passing game. This could be a major issue if rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater isn’t available, because he seems to handle pressure in the pocket much better than his current backup, Christian Ponder.
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5 things to watch
New season, same questions: The starting quarterback was almost a weekly question last year. Sometimes injuries played a part, other times performance led to an unsettled spot.
There's no doubting the latter part of the equation this year. If he's healthy enough to play, Bridgewater will start. Minnesota has to decide if Bridgewater is recovered enough from a sprained ankle or if precaution is needed with the new franchise quarterback.
Bridgewater's first NFL start with 317 yards passing and a touchdown run ensured his starting position, if his standing as the first-round draft pick and future at the position somehow already hadn't done so. Part of Bridgewater's effectiveness in two games has been his mobility. Will Bridgewater be able to protect himself and escape pressure on an injured ankle?
The Packers have just six sacks this season, even though they signed Julius Peppers to bookend with Clay Matthews. Matthews and Peppers each have one sack. Six different players have one sack. But the group can still get after the quarterback and Bridgewater will need to be able to slip away from the pass rush.
Thunder and lightning: Last week the Vikings finally found a running game to complement Bridgewater. After two weeks of poor performances without Adrian Peterson, Minnesota rushed for 241 yards and 5.5 yards per carry. Matt Asiata had 20 carries for 78 yards. Rookie Jerick McKinnon made his first impact of the season with 18 carries for 135 yards. The Vikings' offensive line also had its best day opening holes for Asiata and McKinnon.
The power, between-the-tackles running of Asiata and the shifty, speed of McKinnon face Green Bay's league-worst run defense this week. The Packers have allowed a whopping 176 rushing yards a game this season, nearly 18 yards more than the next worst run defense of the Oakland Raiders. Last week, Green Bay allowed 235 yards rushing to the Chicago Bears. Matt Forte had 23 carries for 122 yards and rookie Ka'Deem Carey had 14 carries for 72 yards.
Pocketing Rodgers: Rodgers is no stranger to many of the Vikings' defenders, who likely are trying to forget the meetings of the past. In 12 career games against Minnesota, Rodgers has thrown for 3,125 yards, a 71.7 completion percentage, 26 touchdowns to just four interceptions and a quarterback rating of 117.9. Green Bay has gone 8-4 in those games.
Rodgers' mobility is a big factor, as well, and the Vikings are aiming to keep him confined to the pocket and hope a team pass rush starts to take effect. Minnesota has eight sacks this season, but just three in the past three games.
The important down: Of course, Minnesota's success is for naught if the defense can't get off the field after third down. The Vikings have allowed opposing offenses to convert 50 percent of third downs this season (28 of 56). Last week, the Falcons converted 10 of 15 third-down chances.
Zimmer wasn't pleased. He called the third-down defense "terrible" and said he was "very disappointed in that." Zimmer promised the team would focus on improving on third downs. Doing so against Green Bay and Rodgers won't be easy.
The Packers have not had their usual offensive success this season, ranking 28th in the league in terms of yards gained. Green Bay's running game is 28th and the passing offense is 15th in the NFL. However, the Packers have been able to extend drives at times. Green Bay is 10th in the league in converting third downs, and is successful on 47.7 percent of its chances.
Patterson's production: There's no complaining when Minnesota's offense puts up 558 yards of offense and 41 points, as it did last week in the win against Atlanta. But receiver Cordarrelle Patterson is still a restricted player in the offense. After opening the season with a 67-yard touchdown run and more than 100 yards rushing, Patterson has carried the ball once the past three games.
Meanwhile, his impact on the passing game has been limited, as well. Patterson hasn't seen the ball on as many of the receiver screen passes as we've seen in the past. Patterson, for his shortcomings, is still the Vikings' most talented playmaker. He's second on the team with 13 catches for 181 yards this season. Last week, Jarius Wright stepped forward as the biggest receiving threat against the Falcons with eight catches for 132 yards.
Patterson also hasn't been able to get going as a kickoff returner. He set an NFL record with a 109-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Packers last year and had 354 yards on nine returns in the two games against Green Bay.
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